Medicine cabinet with rotary magazine



April 14, 1959 L. A. SEASE EFAL MEDICINE CABINET WITH ROTARY MAGAZINE Filed March 20, 1957* 3 Sheets-Sheet ;1

INVENTOR. L A. S E AS E. 'D. J. JOHNSON ATTORNEY April 14, 1959 L. A. SEASE ETAL MEDICINE CABINET WITH ROTARY MAGAZINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 20, 1957 I In 7 3 INVENTOR. L A S E AS E D. J. JOHNSON ATTORNEY April 14, 1959 L. A. SEASE ET AL MEDICINE CABINET WITH ROTARY MAGAZINE I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 20, 1957 N mEo mSS W A I E 0 SJ J L D Y% B ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,882,114 MEDICINE CABINET WITH ROTARY MAGAZINE Lura A. Sease and Dorothy J. Johnson, Ontario, Calif. Application March 20, 1957, Serial No. 647,438 1 Claim. (Cl. Fill- 279) This invention relates to the care, storage and safe keeping of commodities including medicines and the like, administered and used by doctors, nurses and the like, in locations and enterprises particularly dedicated to the treatment and alleviation of human ills.

The invention relates more particularly to a medicine cabinet of the character employed in doctors ofiices, hospitals and the like where the traffic is particularly heavy and convenience and the saving of time in gaining access to necessary supplies is of great importance.

Medical supplies have been stored and handled in various ways and widely kept so that intimate knowledge of the areas and places of storage frequently have been necessary all of which has resulted in delay and loss of time. and making it important that supplies be arranged conveniently so that they are readily available, particularly in cases of emergency, as necessary in view of the times and the pressure of modern living.

It is an object of the invention to overcome the difiiculties heretofore experienced and to provide a medicine cabinet which will serve as an article of furniture, which is of pleasing appearance, having storage compartments for items ranging from small to bulky, conveniently located work space, and a rotary magazine for smaller articles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet of the character indicated in which the rotary magazine is mounted for relatively free rotation, but with radial partitions providing wedge-shaped areas, with supports thereon for correspondingly shaped trays, and with sliding doors affording access to such rotary magazine.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a front elevation;

Fig. 2, a top plan view;

Fig. 3, an enlarged section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4, an enlarged section on the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5, an enlarged section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6, an enlarged side elevation of the rotary magazine;

Fig. 7, an enlarged perspective of one of the trays;

Fig. 8, a fragmentary vertical section of the track for the curved sliding doors; and

Fig. 9, an enlarged perspective of a tray for file cards.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises a cabinet having a base of the general conformation of a flat-top desk with a series of drawers slidably mounted at the front beneath the desk top, such drawers of a size to extend preferably from one side of the base to the other. Beneath the drawers are storage compartments with adjustable shelves and with a pair of sliding doors of glass to permit a view of the interior of the cabinet, the base having a reduced floor portion inset to permit the toes of the operator to extend beneath the main portion of the base for working closer to the work space on the top of the base.

' able shelf, but with the bottom edges of such doors spaced above the top surface of the main portion of the cabinet so that a working area is provided.

A central revolving magazine is provided in the top section of the cabinet and comprises a semi-cylindrical rear wall and a circular front wall of two sections slidable to telescopic relation with regard to the rear wall to expose the front of such magazine to view. The rotary magazine comprises a center post, a series of horizontal shelves, and a series of radial partitions forming wedgeshaped storage areas on which similarly shaped trays are adapted to be disposed.

Also, in connection with the cabinet, 2. card file is employed detachably mounted upon the interior of one or both of the doors of the upper section, such card file being adapted to be supported on edge on the doors, but being adapted to be carried in horizontal position so that the cards may be readily observed.

' With continued reference to the drawings, the invention comprises a cabinet having a base 10 with a flat top 11, a series of drawers 12 slideably mounted at the front beneath the top on supports 13 and 14 (Fig. 4), the drawers 12 preferably are relatively shallow and of a size to expand or till the space from one side of the base'to the other.

Beneath the drawers 12 are storage compartments 15 and 16 with an adjustable shelf 17 mounted on supports 18 and with sliding doors 19 which may be of glass if desired to permit a view of the interior of the cabinet although the doors may be of other material. The base of the cabinet has a reduced floor-engaging portion20 inset sufliciently to permit a person to stand beside the cabinet close to the work space provided on the top of the base.

On and above the base is mounted an upright upper section 21, preferably of a width corresponding to the width of the base and of a depth substantially one-half of that of the base, such section providing a pair of cabinets in which are disposed adjustable shelves 22 on supports 23, and with doors 24 mounted on hinges located at opposite sides of the section 21 to afford access to adjustable shelves 22 but with the bottom of such doors spaced above the fiat top 11 so that a working area on such top is provided.

The upper or top section of the cabinet 21 is provided with a central storage area 25 in which is mounted a central revolving magazine including a semi-cylindrical rear wall 26 (Figs. 2 and 5) and a circular front wall composed of cooperating quarter sections 27 and 28 mounted in trackways 29 on roller bearings 30 so that said quarter sections may slide into telescopic relation with the rear wall to expose the magazine to view.

The curved front walls or doors 27 and 28 are provided with handles 27 and 28 by means of which they may be moved along their tracks until their rear ends engage a vertical stop 31 at the rear.

Mounted within the curved rear wall 26 and the front walls 27 and 28 is a rotary magazine comprising a center post 32, the upper and lower ends of which are mounted in bearings 33 and 34, packed in grease and attached closely beneath the flat top 11 and beneath the top of the upper section 21 by means of bolts or other fasteners 35, the top 16 having an opening 36 in which the post 32 is snugly received.

On the post 32 are mounted a series of radial partitions 37 and radial shelf ledges 38 for receiving a wedge- Patented Apr. 14, 1959 shaped tray 39 having upwardly turned front flanges 40 with identification holders 41 in which patients medications and the like may be identified. Stops 42 are mounted on the outer radial portions of the partitions and tray supports to retain the trays 39 against accidental displacement as a result of centrifugal force. A cabinet containing the revolving mechanism is centrally located between the smaller side cabinets having the doors 24 which open away from the cylindrical unit.

An in-a-door card file 48 (Figs. 3 and 9) is provided having vertical and transverse partitions 44 and 45, respectively, to provide compartments, of which there are preferably 28 in number, for holding the medicine cards, one for eachhour of the day and four for miscellaneous use. A cabinet of this character maybe mounted by means of mounting loops 46 for engaging studs 47 on the doors 24 and 25.

The device just described has maximum shelf, drawer and table top space, which provide extensive accommodation for materials of different kinds. Such a cabinet is particularly useful for hospital use although it can be used in pharmacies, pathological laboratories, doctors oifices and other places where drugs and solutions are used. The individual divisions facilitate keeping medications separately and accurately, promoting efliciency, especially in hospital use where patients have their own individual medicines. The compartments are adequate for keeping the maximum amount of medications required for any single patient. The drawers, equipped with locks, can be used for narcotics, valuable drugs, syringes, needles, and other equipment desired to keep under lock and key. The lower section of the cabinet can be used for storing large jugs, containers and stock supplies of various kinds, the smaller cabinets being used for drug supplies which are frequently used.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the accompanying claim,

What is claimed is:

A medical supply cabinet comprising a base having a substantially fiat top including a forward edge and providing a work surface, a series of drawers in sideby-side relation across said base closely beneath said top, storage space in said base beneath said drawers and opening to the front of said base, sliding doors for said storage space, walls providing a cylindrical center section and a pair of side sections on said base immediately above said flat top, said center section terminating adjacent the forward edge of said flat top and said side sections being parallel to and rearwardly of said front edge, adjustable drawers and shelves for the upper portion of said side sections, a pair of arcuate quarter-circle doors for the front of said cylindrical center section forwardly of said side sections adjacent the work surface of said fiat top, a center post within said cylindrical section, radial partitions mounted on said center post, radially extending shelf ledges spaced vertically between contiguous radial partitions, sector shaped trays removably mounted on said ledges, and retaining stops carried by said partitions engageable with the arcuate edge of said trays for preventing accidental centrifugal discharge of said trays from said cabinet when the center section is rotated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 90,116 

